Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey has welcomed her first child after a secret pregnancy.
The actor and singer has been known to keep much of her personal life private – so keeping the pregnancy under wraps will come as no surprise to many.
However, the 23-year-old has now taken to Instagram to confirm the wonderful news that she’s welcomed a little bundle of joy into the world.
Posting a photo of her hand holding that of a small hand with a gold bracelet with the name ‘Halo’ etched onto it, Bailey wrote: “Even though we’re a few days into the new year, the greatest thing that 2023 could have done for me, was bring me my son.. welcome to the world my halo.
“The world is desperate to know you.”
And many famous faces have flocked to the comments section of Bailey’s Instagram post to offer their congratulations to the new mom.
“Welcome to earth, Halo. We’ve been expecting you. congrats, mama!” rapper Nicki Minaj penned.
Sister Sister star Tia Mowry wrote: “Congrats beauty! Welcome to motherhood.” While another person remarked: “Your terms is the only way anyone needed to know anything and I’m glad you did it just like that!”
Bailey shares Halo with her boyfriend DDG, 26.
The pair went official with their relationship back in March 2022 after romance rumors began to grow in January 2022.
Her baby’s arrival comes after many months of pregnancy rumors – with Bailey responding to a fan back in November who claimed that she had a ‘pregnancy nose’ in a recent photo.
Not particularly happy with the comment, Bailey said: “Listen, if I see one more person say something about my nose one more time, it’s going to be hell to pay.”
“You know why? Because I’m Black. I love my nose. What are you concerned about my nose for?
“Leave me the hell alone.”
In 2023, Bailey was the leading star in one of the biggest films of the past year, Disney’s Little Mermaid.
Back in July 2019, Bailey was officially announced as Ariel for the live-action version of the animated classic.
The casting news was sadly met with intense backlash and vitriol from fans on social media, however, with some of the comments targeting the fact that the star is a Black woman.
In an interview with The Face magazine, Bailey said that she wasn’t surprised by the nasty comments made about her casting.
“As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore,” she shared.
But despite all the backlash, she also said that ‘seeing all the babies’ reactions’ made it all worth it.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Parenting
Yara Shahidi speaks out about her and Halle Bailey playing Tinker Bell and Ariel
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Featured Image Credit: Disney
Peter Pan & Wendy star Yara Shahidi has spoken out about the reaction members of the public have had to her and Halle Bailey being cast as Tinker Bell and Ariel.
The two actors, who have previously starred in Grown-ish, have made history as they became the first Black women to play Tinker Bell and Ariel in onscreen roles.
Disney fans have recently had a better look at both of the stars in action as a teaser trailer for Peter Pan & Wendy was released earlier this month, while the first full-length trailer for The Little Mermaid arrived on Sunday with Bailey in character as Ariel.
Shahidi shared her excitement for being cast in the role of Tinker Bell as she spoke with The Hollywood Reporter this week, when she also showed her support for former co-star as she said she’s’ so excited to watch Halle onscreen’.
“If there’s anybody that is a princess just in real life, in the world, it’s Halle,” Shahidi continued, adding that seeing Halle in the role of Ariel ‘made so much sense’.
Millions of Disney fans are excited to see both Halle and Shahidi in action on the big screen, but Shahidi acknowledged they have both also received racist backlash from people who couldn’t comprehend the thought of entirely fictional creatures being anything but white.
Last month, Bailey told The Face she wasn’t surprised at the reaction, saying: “As a Black person, you just expect it and it’s not really a shock anymore.”
Bailey described ignoring social media and instead focusing on the excitement of the role, while Shahidi has also been able to recognise the positives that have come from her casting as she commented: “What’s been beautiful is seeing the response to both of our characters and seeing how many people feel included in this fairy tale, while also maintaining the magic that we love in the first place.
“I think oftentimes people think of diversity and inclusion as threatening or jeopardizing the quality of the story, instead of seeing how beautifully they can be interwoven together to create something that impacts even more people, that lets even more people into stories that we love.”
We’ll be able to see Shahidi in action when Peter Pan & Wendy debuts on 28 April on Disney+, with Jude Law, Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Alan Tudyk and Jim Gaffigan among those joining Shahidi in the film.
We’ll have to wait a little bit longer for The Little Mermaid, which is set to arrive in theatres on 26 May and co-stars Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, Daveed Diggs, Javier Bardem and Jonah Hauer-King.